King's 18 points leads No. 17 Memphis to 101-78 win over LeMoyne-Owen

Memphis forward Kuran Iverson (23) goes to the basket against LeMoyne-Owen forward Victor Shell (31) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Lance Murphey) (The Associated Press)

15f8936d-LeMoyne Owen Memphis Basketball

Memphis guard Chris Crawford (3) saves a ball from going out-of-bounds against LeMoyne-Owen guard Daequan Mitchell-Fields in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Lance Murphey) (The Associated Press)

MEMPHIS – Nick King scored 18 points and No. 17 Memphis beat Division II LeMoyne-Owen 101-78 on Saturday.

The win was a needed relief for the Tigers (13-4), who had dropped two consecutive home games.

Meanwhile, LeMoyne-Owen (4-10), a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, lost their third straight and fifth in the last six.

Austin Nichols and Geron Johnson finished with 12 points each for Memphis with hitting all six of his shots. Kuran Iverson had 11 points and Shaq Goodwin added 10 for Memphis.

Daequan Mitchell-Fields led the Magicians with 16 points, Marcel Hawkins had 11 and Jerry Hampton.

Memphis coach Josh Pastner promised to play LeMoyne-Owen to benefit the small school located in South Memphis and scheduled the game to keep his word.